The Sound of Waves
by shi-chan
Summary: KakaIru - Kakashi loved everything about Iruka. But what he loved the most was his aura.


I do not own Naruto. Purely fanwork, nothing else.

Warning: Yaoi, possible OOC. Any misspellings or wrong grammar is unintentional. I am my own beta. I could have missed some stuff. And god I wanted this DONE!

Written after catching a glimpse of 30_kisses, theme #29. The community seems to be down and gone, but I figured I'd use their titles and write for KakaIru too (I did the same for YamaGoku in the KHR fandom).

**  
The Sound of Waves**

Numerous times, people would ask him what was it specifically about Iruka that made him comfortable. There were the basics and the most obvious ones of course. Iruka was a caring individual, fun to tease, knew how to take a stand and hold his ground, was immensely patient - even with a lazy bum like him - and most of all, Iruka had a heart of gold that shone brighter than the sun especially when Iruka smiled. The fact that he had a cute backside was an added bonus.

Kakashi loved the fact that he didn't have to pretend to be someone else around Iruka. Iruka - despite his complete combustible personality and temper tantrums - understood him well. Perhaps it was the years of honed patience when dealing with children that made the chuunin more tolerant to Kakashi's own childish - though he argued that it was very mature - acts.

They didn't live together for one but Kakashi had a lot of his belongings lying around Iruka's house. Iruka didn't like leaving things in a mess, didn't like how Kakashi always left his clothes by the laundry basket when the basket was right _there_. He didn't like how Kakashi would make a mess of his food on his plate when he was done eating, or how he'd mash everything together because he was bored or because it was amusing to watch how green peas, for example, looked like clumps of brain turned green. Iruka never found it amusing when Kakashi went somber with his humor and they were frequent whenever Kakashi just returned from a mission. Iruka hated the fact that Kakashi played with the teabag in his cup, got irritated when Kakashi would dig his feet under the rug by the couch or how Kakashi would turn everything in to his personal sexual playground and leave a warzone behind.

But Iruka, Kakashi knew, never utters a word about it. He'd rant, call him lazy and reckless, maybe swing his arms violently as he gestured towards the mess that was driving him mad, but he will never say anything beyond that.  
_  
"Geez, Kakashi, help out a bit will you?"_

"Maa, Iruka, if I get up from here, how in heaven's name will I get to admire that cute ass of yours?"

"You're hopeless!"

Iruka _would_ pick things up, set things straight with the mind and patience of a teacher his calibre, regardless of Kakashi's teasing - he never did it quietly of course. The clothes would go in to the basket, the dishes will be cleaned (and maybe a jibe or two that it'd be Kakashi's brain that'd look like mashed peas if he didn't stop squishing his food), the teabag would be thrown away or sometimes not left inside the cup. The rug would be straightened, and usually with Iruka kicking Kakashi's knees because it was his favorite rug and folding it over and over was going to ruin the fibers. Whatever area of the house Kakashi decided to use as his playground, come the morning, it would be as clean as a shining mirror. That was what Iruka did; he picked up the mess Kakashi left behind.

And like he did with the physical things of their surroundings, he was the one who picked Kakashi up when the man didn't have the strength to stand on his own two feet, be it physically or mentally. He'd argue of course, always tell Kakashi was that he was being foolish and a reckless idiot. 'Reckless idiot' seemed to be Iruka's favorite praise when he was berrating Kakashi even if Kakashi himself was far from reckless. But Kakashi knew, when he stared at those soulful brown eyes, that the words weren't meant to harm him. They were a way to convey how terrified Iruka was for Kakashi, how one day there woulnd't be a 'reckless idiot' to be called a 'reckless idiot' anymore, how Iruka was _glad_ he made it back. It was all there in the deep brown depths, a soft aura of worry and genuine emotion that swept over Kakashi like waves by the sea.

That was Iruka. He was the sea.

He washed away all the dirt, took the mess with him and swallowed ruins and broken ships and kept it somewhere hidden deep inside him. He was also the calming, the way gentle waves washed over dry land or barren beaches. He was also a strong force that eroded even something as immovable and solid as rocks. The sea changed things.

What really got to Kakashi was that Iruka's _aura_ was like the sound of waves, calming and melodic, but also loud and explosive. It was the main thing that drew Kakashi towards the slightly shorter man, because when Iruka was just there, the ugly noise in his head would hush to a calm silence. Everything would fade and maybe, on rare nights or dawns when Iruka was holding him against him as the man snored lightly for the start of a new day, his aura would remind Kakashi of that one time, a distant memory when he was but an infant and he wasn't so alone. A time when _both_ his parents went to the seashore and allowed him to crawl amidst the white sands, clap little hands against the waves and smile a toothless smile.

Iruka was the home he lost and barely remembered and that was what Kakashi treasured the most. It kept him sane. It kept him alive.

If Iruka was the sea, then Kakashi liked to think that he was the ruined and stranded ship on the beach. Iruka's waves were the pestering force of nature that eventually would make him set sail once more and keep him going.

So while Kakashi loved everything about Iruka, it was a little secret to himself that his aura - even from a distance - was what he loved the _most_.

FIN

Umm, yeah. Done. Tea?


End file.
